The Russian national session 'The Main Results of the
Social Development of the Russian Federation in 2001 and
the Goals for 2002' is taking place in Moscow. The data,
which were presented at the session by the Russian
government, testified to the fact that there are still
very many social problems. Valentina Matviyenko, vice
premier of the Russian government, advised that the death
rate was 1.7 times as high as the birth rate in the year
2001. Everyone knows that the Russian population is
growing old very fast. The same problem can be found in
other European countries and Japan, but the reasons for
this problem are different. A lot of families choose not
to have children for one reason: it is very expensive.
Raising even one child costs a lot, and Russian families
are not sure if they can guarantee a good life to their
children. The young people of Europe and Japan are more
interested in their careers, and they spend the majority
of their time on this issue. As a result, they do not have
the time to raise children.

One cannot say that the Russian government is not worried
about the critical situation in our country. There should
be certain benefits guaranteed to families that have
little ones, but the amount of funding for such help is
very low, and people have to go through a lot of red tape
in order to get it. Therefore, lot of people simply decide
not to have kids, and even if they do, they try to solve
their problems with their own efforts.

Valentina Matviyenko also said that the number of the
HIV-infected people was growing in Russia. This index
increased from 18 thousand to 85.5 thousand people during
the period of 1999-2001, and this is only the official
information. These people have to face a great deal of
problems. Medical treatment is very expensive, and not
everyone can afford it. Moreover, an infected person has a
lot of problems in his or her everyday life: problems at
work and conflicts with neighbors; the list goes on and
on. The AIDS precaution measures in Russia are totally
unsatisfactory. There are just several organizations that
deal with it, basically at the expense of foreign money.

The situation is the same when it comes to drug addicts.
As Valentina Matviyenko mentioned, 90% of the HIV-infected
people used drugs by means of intravenous injections. At
the same time, there were 270 thousand drug addicts
officially registered in Russia in 2001, and only every
fifth patient is under medical treatment. Matviyenko also
said that the non-medical use of medicines had taken
threatening forms.

Speaking about the "healthy" nation, it should be said
that only nine percent of Russians, including five percent
of women. Valentina Matviyenko said that, while the West
is running away from alcohol and smoking, the Russian
stadiums and sports fields are turning into market places.
The vice premier said that the sports issue is going to be
considered by the government. Let's hope for the best.

In addition, the president of the Russian Olympic
Committee, Leonid Tyagachev, has found the financial
sources to fund Russian sports programs. He said during
his speech at the session of the Federation Council on
March 11 that the Russian Olympic Committee should have
its own hotels; the sports lottery should be retrieved, he
even mentioned casinos; and income can be earbed from
selling vodka and cigarettes. So as it seems, one part of
Russia will smoke and drink vodka, whereas the other part
will be healthy. Let's hope that the government will not
consider Tyagachev's offer seriously.

The list of problems in the social field is surely
includes more that the ones mentioned above. There is also
unemployment, homeless children, alcoholism, and the low
level of the population's income. Why is the Russian
government paying attention to the problems only now' And
only after President Putin said something about them.
There should be something done before it's too late,
otherwise, there will be nobody left in Russia after 20
years who should be taken care of.